Awww! I love this & him! He's always been my favorite. It may seem silly to pick favorites when it comes to such a big band like the Cure. But his art, style, talent.. He's always been a HUGE part of the Cure's shows to me. I've only seen them twice. Once Coachella with Pearl and second Reflections sans-Porl. & Coachella was just this magical escapism full of love and amazing noise. Reflections was amazing too but Pearl added such huge emotion to From the Edge of the Deep Green Sea... and Disintegration.. Push.. He smiled and waved to me in between To Wish Impossible Things and Pictures of you that night and between that moment and all of those beautiful songs- I was just SO HAPPY. Amazing night. Thank you for that, Pearl!!! I can't wait for your upcoming projects, I hope you keep us up with them. I'm very excited! Your art and style has always been SO COOL to me. THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU! Will miss you in the Cure but will always remember it!!

It's very sad that Porl has left the band, as he did great stuff in the '80s and '90s; that beautifully subtle way he played acoustic guitar during the bridge to "Boys Don't Cry" on MTV Unplugged comes to mind.

What the hell is this Pearl crap? His actual name is Porl. Is this a sex change thing?

*rolls eyes back* Are you serious?I don't think it's crap :PHis name change is only a two letter difference...p(o)rl=p(EA)rl

I'm just shocked at the negative annotation that if someone decided or found out they are gay, had a sex change, transsexual/was a transvestite, wanted to be called something different, wore interesting makeup, needed ANY sort of change...C H A N G E the fact that they are loving & talented?

Pearl/Porl/Paul=You kick ass or as the English say Arse!

The Cure will always be #1 regardless of who's "in the band" at the moment;because they represent so much to a whole Variety of people.

They have been rocking eyeliner & different looks since they started, wore dresses, made being different/out of the box/strange COOL, etc.

Porl has contributed so much both musically & like Rev.Heron below me with Incredible artistry.

Fingers crossed! that the Cure continues another 31+years, Pearl's new projects follow thru, artwork-Parched Art, continues...because there is WAYYYYY too much Recycled/boring SHIT.

So let's shut up with our the analyzing/critics & hope they continue to create so we can enjoy our sad asses ;)!!!!!!

Let's not get too upset, shall we? Porl is always playing with our expectations, pretending to be gay with Simon in US concerts by kissing him with his tongue. If he was actually gay, that would be fine; I enjoy the work of many gay artists. It just sounded so concocted and a weird/insulting on The Cure approach to change his name to a quite feminine sounding one. There are women named Pearl, not men. And it seemed like he was legally changing his name and I actually half-wondered if he WAS changing his sex. Either way, it's sad that he's gone to the lengths of changing his artistic name because I wonder if it IS (as others have said) shutting the door on The Cure. And this is in no way any insult on the remaining Cure members, but I'll miss that 2nd guitar almost as much as I missed keyboards.

Thank you, Pearl for your incredible artistry throughout the years. I am deeply grateful for your presence within The Cure and for your continued dedication to living your life fully and honestly. I was fortunate to get to see you play many times and will miss you deeply. Be well, be true and Namaste. If you read this, I still have a gift waiting for you if you choose to receive it. Craig has my contact info. All my love to you now and in the future, Rev.

(Didn't see your comment earlier) Sorry, Craig, I didn't know Porl was a nickname, as he was always called "Porl Thompson" in the liner notes. The Pearl thing sounded almost like a mocking joke or something. I'm quite upset that he's left and am upset Robert didn't write better guitar parts for him. As was clear in my earlier post, I have the greatest respect for him as an artist and performer, but this just seemed so hammed up. He had no trouble calling himself "Porl" after he left The Cure the first time. I just can't get past the fact that we won't have two guitarists in the band anymore.

Holy Shit...some of his shit for sale is pretty fucking cool! The cover for 4:13 Dream (tatooed orange that wasn't used) is pretty sick. But seriously, why don't you reconsider this quitting thing or tell Robert to get those additional tracks recorded for 4:13 released so we can get a last hurrah of orl's amazing contribution...

pearl, you are the most wonderful artist and such underrated guitarist! thank you for your contributions to the cure and for just being amazing in every way. i'm so glad i got to see and hear the cure when you were a part of it.REALLY looking forward to all your future endeavors! to your good fortune! xx

With that said, here are my two cents....Porl left the band years ago for whatever reasons..very quiet, not a lot said about why he left...now they got the crazy fuck from Korn on the summer festival playing guitar and Porl's / Pearl's knee jerk reaction is to sell all his Cure shit....that's the crazy ass reality TV show shit I'm talking about...

awesome stuff kiddos...fucking awesome stuff...

But seriously, Porl fucking rocks....always has, always will...who cares what his name is, his guitar skills are 2nd to none....too bad it took him this long to make a statement about leaving the band....keep up the drama...me likes

Pearl, thank you for sharing your art and amazing talents with us throughout the years. I had the privilege of watching you perform from the front row in 2008, and I will always treasure that experience. I look forward to your future endeavors. Best wishes always!

I would love to tell you that I'm happy but to be perfectly honnest I'm not even if in a way I am... I really hope that you'll enjoy all your projects as much as you can, and I know you will. You've been so important for The Cure that I'm sad to read that this time it's done. I aslo hope that you'll be happy with your familly, that you'll stay in touch with the boys ; if you don't want to be a rock star anymore, maybe you could contribute to the next Cure sleeves and art ;) ...I wish you all the best, from the bottom of my heart.David... crying after the rain

Dear Pearl So Sad to hear that you have left the Cure forever . I Wish you much happiness with your projects & hope that keep Chain of flowers up to date Thanks for all the Amazing performances &Artwork & I agree at the edge of the deep green sea will never be the Same

Your guitar work was peerless, and you were a part of The Cure's best output in my opinion. I also think your presence was one of the reasons why fragments of 4:13 Dream touched the heights of old. Best of luck with everything, and thanks for your massive contribution. Now I'm going to listen to Never Enough (Big Mix) and then Show in your honour. Cheers.

Can't blame him. There is no creative outlet for him in the CURE anymore, as Robert is apparently more than satisfied to simply live on past glories, touring old material, and releasing nothing new. What's next for them? A month-long stint in Vegas???

What pisses me off most about this is that yet again Toronto was given a boring setlist and I'll never see Porl perform "The Big Hand" or "A Letter to Elise" or "Doing the Unstuck" or any of the amazing songs Americans were gifted because Robert decided real Cure fans should suffer because there's a generic audience quotient that had to be satisfied. How about saving the rare stuff for later in the concert, so all the bored fans can go home and the rest of us can enjoy awesomeness.

If you are reading this, Porl, you know, unlike over-senstive folks (Pearl? Come on, mate!) that the take-home comment I was making was that I loved your work; your guitar solo during the bridge of "The Hungry Ghost" was one of the best things about the song.

Dude, I've never seen "The Big Hand" or "Doing the Unstuck" either, and I went to three shows (two "American" and one "Canadian") during the 4 Tour. Every concert is different. Those songs are rarely played, so I don't go expecting them--it's just a fantastic treat if they are. So I really don't understand your anger.

Appreciate the fact that The Cure came to Toronto and you got to see them--there are fans all over the world who are not as lucky, and they would not find ANY setlist boring.

it is 'funny' in a way,twenty years after 'wish' you are going away from The Cure a very sad anniversary imo.I hope the rest boys won't ruin playin live songs just like The Big Hand or FTEOTDGS etc. Anyway,wish you all the best Mr. P.T. ~*~

What is happening is pretty simple to understand. He is just quitting music to focus on painting. It's not a "Cure problem", because he's also selling some P/P stuff and some quite personal music items. He's just tired of being his music persona, Porl, hence the name change, I guess. He probably is very tired and wants to break free from being stuck forever between 1984 and 1994.

His last time with Cure which was a mess where he was nothing but a handyman there, just filling gaps, was just the last drop. A necessary mess for him, though.

Best luck to The ArtistFormerlyKnownAsPorl in his fresh new clean white canvas. Move on.

Thank you so much Porl for all you have given to The Cure over the years. Your guitar playing on the 4Tour was nothing short of exceptional, that solo on FTEOTDGS will stay with me forever. Am, like many others I'm sure, very sorry that you are no longer in the band, but am pleased that you are happy in your life now, and wish Pearl all the best in the future. Please let us all know how these projects progress.Times change, and people move on, that is life.And, as always, thanks Craig for keeping us updated.

this saddens me to no end. i really wonder what all went down for him to arrive at this decision. it all just seems so permanent and it really is. best of luck to you, pearl. i will always treasure my Porl Thompson Schecter Corsair as well as your music and artistic talents.

Well, pearls are rare and beautiful and so are you, Pearl. Not to mention exceptionally gifted and kind. Thank you so much for reaching out to your fans and letting us know what is going on with you. I hope you'll continue to do that when or if it's possible, and that there will eventually be a page/blog/etc. somewhere where we can follow your adventures.

I wish you all the best with your new projects, and hope that we will be seeing and hearing more from you. A world without Porls, or Pearls, is just boring. :) <3

Bizarre the cureheads always called Jeremy (Thier guitarist) pearl thompson and their bass player (Sean) Simone Gulp! How art reflects life or does life reflect art? Or is this another wind up from Rabbit Schmidt? (Gary)

And PORL? If that's really you? Not because you are in The Cure, Not because you toured with Page & PLant, Not because you made a beautiful family, Not because you have an amazing affinity with anything with strings or any medium on any medium.....but because you have been open and honest with the people who care about you (that haven't had the benefit of knowing you personally) ................Just be you...Just be everything you can be that makes you feel ...not unhappy.... I'm not loved by many people that have spent a little time with me....but I am totally revered and hated and liked and detested and insanely inescplicibly tolerated by those that spend huge amounts of time with me..... go figure.... Just don't waste any time being what people want you to be....that's my shit.... BYE Porl..... let's get jeremy on Guitar now...

So, goodbye Porl. Welcome Pearl. A pearl is a luminous gem produced when a grain of sand gets irritated. I don't know the personal details that led to this change but the image is a beautiful metaphor for creativity; nice timing on Beltane.

I feel lucky to have seen you play blistering sets in Fairfax and Austin on the 4 tour: there was a fantastic energy with that lineup, on the recorded album as well. But I'm secretly glad you'll be doing some serious painting again. And the prospect of jewelry means we might be able to afford some of your work.

I'm really sad that there'll be no more opportunities to see that awesome guitar hero(ine)ness with the Cure again! Pearl: you are super-duper and I have loved every second of listening/viewing pleasure you've given me.Pearl is the reason I started playing guitar and I share the same surname, so if Mr S would like an inept and thoroughly mediocre replacement....

I think he's just having a bit of fun with the name thing. Wasn't he Porl, from the way robert would say paul, (his name if anyone is confused). So now that he's finished with the cure, he's not gonna go by his old nickname. and came up with a new one for a bit of fun. ie. rip porl. ha. Anyway he will be missed, such a brilliant artist and guitarist! I'm so glad he came back and made 4:13 Dream. Such a good collection of songs. I enjoyed his stage presence on the 4tour as well. good luck poauerl! :)

oh wow, thanks craig. Didn't see that bit, did he write that somewhere or just to you?May take some getting used to, but whatever I'm looking forward to what he does next. I really hope He will still do the cure's next album cover(if there is one) with andy, but it sounds like hes done completely.

Its nice to hear from Porl/Pearl at last :). I hope all is ok with him. Its a shame that he will no longer be the with band (forever...?). I hope things between him and Robert are alright and that one day we may know how or why he left.

Its a shame because the 2006-2009 lineup seemed to enjoy itself on stage a lot more than previous lineups.

What an amazing musical CV: The Top, Concert, The Head on the Door, Standing on a Beach/Staring at the Sea, Kiss Me Kiss Me Kiss Me, The Cure In Orange, Disintegration, Entreat, Picture Show, Mixed Up, Play Out, Wish, Show, Paris, Page and Plant, Galore, Join the Dots, Greatest Hits, Festival 2005 and 4:13 Dream.

All the live shows and tours you played are remembered by so many fans and I hope you have great memories of them too. I saw you and heard you play in Sydney, Benicassim, London, Berlin, Prague and Rome and you were great everytime.

I also met you at Gatwick after the Rome 4:13 Dream concert in Oct'08 and you were so friendly and cool, introducing me to Robert and Jason, and signing my Rome guide book. It was great talking to your son Toby too who was really proud of you for 4:13 Dream which was about to be released.

Thanx Porl/Pearl for all the years of playing a fantastic guitar. No one will ever beat you on your guitar solo on "the blood" and some of the tour tapes still blew me away! But for your privacy, keep on going and still enjoy your life! It´s just yours and nobody has to argue about it. The Cure still is a very big part of your life and maybe you join in for some shows in a few years... just foolish hope! Cheers

And, sorry, but I don't like this "Pearl" thing. It has no mysticism to it like "Porl" did.

I always thought of Porl as someone who could come and go from The Cure as they please. So please let there be a fourth stint . . . but not as Pearl.

And Porl clearly has musical talent and I'd hate to say it again but Laurence's mere "presence" makes The Cure better, even if Lol is not the luminary talent Porl was. Each member filled different roles.

Porl, I think it's great that you have your side stuff but it's likely to have never got any notice if people didn't know you were in The Cure. Hopefully Parched Art can at least do cover art for subsequent Cure releases.

You are part of the essence of The Cure. Your image, your imagery used for The Cure albums. I hope you feel better soon. Touring must be hard for a sensitive artist like you. Lucky I saw you all on stage. Don't know if there is a sexual identity issue as well. Free yourself man.

Well that gave me the kick up the arse to learn how to blog. Nice one. I have a new skill set haha. Hey, Bruno said 'send my love'.

And I send mine too. My son Jimski thinks the cure are cool but the Cure apparently aren't as good as the Rolling Stones (all half term, god and apparently according to him Mick Jaggers lips are huge because he has been kissing too many women) or the beasty boys. So no sleep til Brooklyn. Hey glad to see the art has come back. I need a window pain replaced, It's held up with gaffa at the min. jimmy chucked his numb chuck at it. A bit of stained glass wouldn't go amiss. Can I commission you... ? Not joking x K x

Will mail you lost your number.

D did wonder at the auction stuff, but only because he was looking at the geetars lol. x And I see Chris is getting rid of a load of stuff.

You know, no-one will read this as it's soooo long ago now, but does Pearl refer to something that happened at The Pearl in Las Vegas in 2009? REmember Robert's sore hand and Porl's subsequent leaving?